Charles River Editors

The Hittites and Lydians Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts and passages about the civilizations *Includes a bibliography for further reading "Whoever after me becomes king resettles Hattusas, let the Stormgod of the Sky strike him!" - A Hittite inscription found at the capital city of Hattusa The pages of world history textbooks contain a litany of "lost" empires and civilizations, but usually, upon further review, it is revealed that these so called lost empires are often just lesser known cultures that had a less apparent impact on history than other more well-known civilizations. When one scours the pages of history for a civilization that was inexplicably lost, but had a great impact during its time, very few candidates can be found, but the Hittites are a notable example. In fact, the Hittites are an ancient people who remain somewhat enigmatic, and perhaps little known to most people, but their influence on the ancient Near East is undeniable. From high on their capital of Hattusa in central Anatolia, the Hittites were able to conquer and control a kingdom that roughly comprised the area of the modern nation-states of Turkey, Syria, and parts of Iraq and Lebanon through a combination of brute military force and shrewd diplomatic machinations. Compared to some of their contemporaries - including the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians - the Hittites were somewhat distant both culturally and geographically. With that said, the influence of the Hittites on the politics, economy, and overall situation of the ancient Near East cannot be understated; the Hittites were a force to be reckoned with while they existed. The sources used to reconstruct Hittite history and chronology are many and varied, and since the Hittites were a literate people who developed a fairly sophisticated corpus of literature, ancient Hittite archives can be used to reconstruct events. The Egyptian sources also provide excellent details on events that either the Hittites refused to mention in their own texts, have not been discovered yet, or have been lost to the ages. Of course, modern archaeology has also helped to fill in the knowledge about Hittite civilization, especially in regards to palace and religious life in the ancient capital of Hattusa. Of all the empires and kingdoms in the ancient world, few could compare with the Lydians in terms of wealth and opulence. From the early 7th century BCE until the middle of the 6th century BCE, the Lydians played an important role in the history of the eastern Mediterranean region as they took on the role of middleman between the empires of the Near East and the emerging Hellenic civilization in Greece. From their capital in Sardis, the Lydian kings traded and made alliances and war with numerous kings, tyrants, and generals, which ultimately cemented their role as a brief but historically important people and kingdom in the ancient world. The Lydians were fortunate enough to possess large deposits of precious metals within in their territory, but how they exploited and utilized those resources is what truly made them successful. They were the first people to invent a currency which not only allowed them to create a thriving economy within their own territory, but gave them tool with which to influence both their friends and enemies abroad. The wealth of Lydia impressed non-Lydians to the point that even the most sublime Greek philosophers who generally eschewed wealth, praised the high culture of Lydia and the Lydian people in general and the greatness of their capital city of Sardis in particular. Lydia was also successful because its kings were shrewd, politically savvy men who knew the supreme art of diplomacy. But ultimately, despite their wealth and guile, the Lydians found themselves the victims of the Achaemenid Persian juggernaut, which consumed their kingdom, along with many others, in the mid-6th century BCE.